A 91-year-old man from Australia has survived a paragliding crash. Fortunately, he was able to walk away with only minor injuries after he plunged into the ocean near the northern beaches in Sydney.
Man survives crash
The old man is a professional paraglider, but he was not able to properly estimate his landing. He was helped out of the water by locals after they saw him go down near Warriewood at about 6 p.m. on November 15, according to authorities.
ABC News reported that emergency services were called to a cliff face near the site, and that was where paramedics assessed the man. He was able to escape the whole ordeal with just cuts and bruises.
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Local media footage showed the man, who was not named, walking across rocks. His left leg was bandaged, and he was assisted by rescuers.
Police said that his chute was retrieved from the water, and he was taken to Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital for treatment, as reported by MSN.
Other incidents
In 2007, Michael Holmes plummeted 12,000 feet to Earth in a skydiving accident. The incident was recorded from a tiny camera on his helmet, and the gut-wrenching and shocking clip has made rounds online.
The moment when Holmes tugged at his ripcord and discovered that his parachute would not open was also captured. There were frantic efforts to release it, but he was spinning so fast that it was almost impossible.
Holmes was also captured trying to release his reserve parachute, but that too was entangled above him. He was 550 feet above the ground when he waved goodbye to the world and screamed a last message into the camera's microphone, accepting his fate. Moments later, the impact of him hitting the ground was heard.
Jonathan King, Holmes' friend, jumped from the same plane and also filmed the whole event. He landed shortly afterward, and as he rushed to help his friend, his helmet camera recorded the incredible outcome. Holmes was broken, bleeding, and unconscious, but he was alive.
The then 25-year-old skydiver told his amazing story to DailyMail and talked about how he survived the fall from 2.2 miles above Lake Taupo in New Zealand. He only suffered from a broken ankle and a punctured lung.
Holmes said that he thought he would die and hoped he would land in the water. But even if he did, he knew it would still not be okay as he could be knocked unconscious and drown.
Holmes is one of the world's top ten skydivers with more than 7,000 jumps to his name. He is aware of the risks of his career, and he knows that panic-induced human error is mostly to blame for almost all accidents.
The skydiver's experience as a qualified instructor, a member of the British skydiving team, and reigning New Zealand champion means that he can recall the event in detail.
By his admission, Holmes never gave a thought during his two minutes and two seconds of freefall; all he knows that he does not regret skydiving despite how dangerous it could be as anything can happen. Holmes is now a professor and instructor for aspiring skydivers.
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